Beverage dispensers, such as coffee pots, are frequently employed in food service operations, such as at restaurants, to allow servers and customers to dispense a selected volume of beverage into a cup so that the beverage can be consumed. Typical beverage dispensers such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,183, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, generally comprise a receptacle or container portion that holds the beverage and a stopper or lid device that seals the container. The lid can be selectively opened by the user for dispensing by pressing a lever. The container can be insulated or can be configured as a vacuum pot so that the temperature of the beverage in the container can be maintained.
Drawbacks to typical conventional containers include leakage, difficulty to open/close flow, inability or difficulty in adjusting the flow rate, complexity, reliability, cost, and ease of cleaning. Therefore, there is a need for a beverage container that addresses some or all of these noted deficiencies of the conventional dispensers.